If you want to build muscle fast, should you train with higher reps with lower weights or lower reps with heavier weights?
Knuckle-dragging guru's from every corner of the bodybuilding planet most often chant in unison the "Lift heavy or go home!" mantra.
But is this really the best way to build more muscle mass?
Building muscle is a result of several different training elements including muscle contraction, anabolic hormones, amino acid availability, calories, recovery, and a factor called "time under tension".
Time under tension basically refers to the amount of time during your working sets that your muscle is actually exerting force against the weight and according to one study, is greatly impacted by the amount of weight your lifting...and HOW you're lifting it.
A group of untrained young men were divided into groups with one using LOW WEIGHTS (only 50% of their 1 Rep Max) but using a slow lifting tempo to increase the amount of time it took to raise and lower the weight. All sets were performed to the point of muscular exhaustion.
Another group went "heavy" with 80% of their 1 Rep Max but used a faster repetition tempo to exhaustion.
Both groups experienced significant muscle gains but the surprising revelation was that Group 1, using lighter weights with higher reps and slower tempo, had the greatest degree of impact from "time under tension" factor in the trained muscles.
This resulted in a higher degree of hormone-signaling factors (largely from build up of lactic acid) that triggered a greater release of growth hormone and insulinlike growth factor-1 (IGF-1).
Also, because there was a greater constriction of the trained muscles' blood vessels and "pump" from the increased time under tension, the body responded by increasing the production of nitric oxide in order to expand blood pathways and increase oxygen to the muscle.
But one of nitric oxide's other roles is to generate satellite muscle cells, already primed for adding to your overall muscle mass through proper training.
Does this mean that you should abandon all other training methods and switch over to lower weights?
Absolutely not!
Any type of training performed the same way for too long only creates adaptation by the body and leads to frustrating "no growth" plateaus. There's incredible value in mixing up "heavy" training into your bodybuilding routine. You may want to train one day with lighter weights and then a few days later with heavier weights to mix things up but one of the important factors from this study shows that when lifting lighter weights for mass-building, you should use a slower tempo, around a combined 5-7 seconds between concentric and eccentric movements.
I actually use what I humbly consider a much more effective variation of this technique in my "Advanced Mass Building" program (http://tinyurl.com/yjbvm86). My technique doesn't just increase the "time under tension" factor...it sends it through the roof!
My method focuses on targeting two complimentary actions of a specific muscle group to work together in ramping up tension. For example, incline flyes followed by cable crossovers to target different areas of the chest. Sets are performed back-to-back in rapid succession with no rest until the prescribed number of sets are reached. You may do even this for 10 sets or more, depending upon your own abilities.
The result is an extreme time under tenstion factor that triggers massive release of growth hormone and IGF-1 hormones as well as the biggest pumps of your life. In turn, this naturally stimulates the production of nitric oxide and an increase in muscle satellite cells.
This method is then supported by follow up weekly cycles specifically building upon this mass-building momentum with the goal of targeting all seven muscle fiber variants and greatly enhanced muscle mass.
For more information on this unique training method, please see my website at http://tinyurl.com/yjbvm86.
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